Different programs of United States federal assistance and how they work. United States federal assistance could be federal program, project, service, and activity provided by the federal government. Food stamps, medicate or Medicare, Section 8, unemployment all these are supplement programs that are funded by general tax revenues and the social security retirement benefits are funded by the social security taxes. These supplement programs are designed to help elderly, blind, disabled, and poor people, who have little or no income by providing cash or other benefits to meet the basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. The official name for the food stamps program is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In the past, the program provided paper denominational stamps or coupons to the peoples. They were like US $1 (brown colored), US $5 (blue colored), and US $10 (green colored). Today, all food-stamp benefits are distributed through plastic cards called the Mass EBT card. Every cardholder has his own account and the food stamp benefits are put into the account each month. These EBT cards could be used at grocery stores, convenience stores, markets, and co-ops. The food stamp eligibility is determined by a Net income calculation that takes into consideration your family size, citizenship status, household income and certain expenses. In order to be eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps, households must have a Net Income below or equal to the Net Income Guideline for their family size.
Count the number of people in your household
Your gross income must be equal to or less than
1
$1,805
2
$2,429
3
$3,052
4
$3,675
5
$4,299
6
$4,922
7
$5,545
8
$6,169
for each additional person
add $624
(http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/whatarefs.htm) Medicaid is the United States health program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with limited income in the United States. Medicare is a social insurance program that funded entirely at the federal level and focuses primarily on the older population. The Medicare Program provides a Medicare part A which covers hospital bills, Medicare Part B which covers medical insurance coverage, and Medicare Part D which covers prescription drugs. Medicaid is like a social welfare or social protection program and the Medicare is a social insurance program. Medicaid also covers a wider range of health care services than Medicare. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid) The chart below shows how much income you can receive in a month and the amount of resources (if applicable) you can retain and still qualify for Medicaid. The income and resource (if applicable) levels depend on the number of your family members who live with you.
2010 Income & Resource Levels*
Medicaid Standard for Singles
People, Couples without
Children & Low Income
Families
Net Income for Families; and Individuals who
are Blind, Disabled or Age 65+
Resource Level
(Individuals who are Blind, Disabled or Age 65+ ONLY)
Annual
Monthly
Annual
Monthly
1
$8,479
$707
$9,200
$767
$13,800
2
$10,584
$883
$13,400
$1,117
$20,100
3
$12,593
$1,050
$15,410
$1,285
$23,115
4
$14,622
$1,219
$17,420
$1,452
$26,130
5
$16,719
$1,394
$19,430
$1,620
$29,145
6
$18,253
$1,522
$21,440
$1,787
$32,160
7
$19,869
$1,656
$23,450
$1,955
$35,175
8
$21,943
$1,829
$25,460
$2,122
$38,190
9
$23,131
$1,928
$27,470
$2,289
$41,205
10
$24,321
$2,027
$29,480
$2,457
$44,220
For each additional person, add:
$99
$2,010
$168
(http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/) Section 8 is the subsidized housing for low-income families and individuals. With these programs, individuals or families find and lease a unit (either in a specified complex or in the private sector) and pay a portion of the rent (based on income, but generally no more than 30% of the family's income). (http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud/public-housing-and-rental-subsidies) Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to the unemployed people. Unemployment insurance is a federal-state program, which jointly financed through federal and state payroll taxes of the employers. Generally, employers must pay both state and federal unemployment taxes when they pay wages to employees totaling $1,500 or more in any quarter of a calendar year or they had at least one employee during any day of a week during 20 weeks in a calendar year, regardless of whether the weeks were consecutive. Some state laws are different from the federal law. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_benefits#Federal-State_joint_programs) In most states, regular benefits are paid for a maximum of 26 weeks but during the times of high unemployment, additional weeks of benefits are available. In many states, the compensation will be half of the person’s previous earnings, up to a maximum amount. For example, in New York State, NYS unemployment provide up to a maximum of $405, which is half the state's average weekly wage. While in Arizona, the highest benefit rate is $205. Benefits are subject to Federal income taxes and must be reported on your Federal income tax return. (http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/unemployment/a/unemployment.htm) To become eligible for Social Security retirement, a person has to reach a certain age and earn at least 40 Social Security “credits.” (10 years of work) by working and paying Social Security taxes. If you stop working, you stop earning credits until you return to work. The payment is based on how much a person made during his working years. Social Security replaces only about 40 percent of the average worker’s preretirement income. The payment is also affected by the age at which a person decides to retire. The earliest age to retire is age 62, and then the benefits will be permanently reduced, based on the age. For example, if you retire at age 62, your benefit would be about 25 percent lower than what it would be if you waited until you reach full retirement age. To draw full retirement benefits, the following Social Security Administration age rules apply:
Born in
Full retirement age
Born in
Full retirement age
1937
65 years
1955
66 years 2 months
1938
65 years 2 months
1956
66 years 4 months
1939
65 years 4 months
1957
66 years 6 months
1940
65 years 6 months
1958
66 years 8 months
1941
65 years 8 months
1959
66 years 10 months
1942
65 years 10 months
1960 or later
67 years
1943-1954
66 years
If a person wait to retire beyond his full retirement age, his Social Security benefit will automatically increase by a percentage based on his year of birth. For example, if you were born in 1943 or later, Social Security will add 8 percent per year to your benefit for each year that you delay signing up for Social Security beyond your full retirement age. (http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/socialsecurity/a/socsecapply.htm) How these assistance programs create problems in the society, and who are the stakeholders?
Most of these federal assistance programs cause economical and social problems, which lead to many sustainable problems. These problems are not because of the existence of the programs but it is because of the lack of authority and proper rules. With food stamp, people could by all the food or food products that meant to be eaten by people. Snack foods like candy, potato chips, chewing gum, and soft drinks also could be bought with food stamps. Therefore, many people are buying the non-healthy foods and facing many health issues like obesity, diabetics, cholesterol, and many others. Many people are abusing most these federal programs to get assistance they have to earn less money. Some people work foe cash money, therefore the earnings are not reported. Some people quit jobs frequently to get these benefits, and some do not mind to be fired from jobs to get unemployment benefits. Because of getting more benefits of being a single mother, many children are raised without their father. Since, children and pregnant women get a lot of benefit, lot of young women are getting pregnant. By getting pregnant, young moms also become independent. Therefore, they do not have to provide their parents income. For health benefits, the income levels are higher for children and pregnant women.
Infants to age one and pregnant women - 200% of the federal poverty level.
Children age 1 through 5 years - 133% of the federal poverty level.
Children age 6 through 18 years - 100% of the federal poverty level.
Monthly Income Effective January 1, 2009*
Number in Family
100% FPL
133% FPL
200% FPL
1
$903
$1,201
$1,805
2
$1,215
$1,615
$2,429
3
$1,526
$2,030
$3,052
4
$1,838
$2,444
$3,675
5
$2,150
$2,859
$4,299
6
$2,461
$3,273
$4,922
7
$2,773
$3,688
$5,545
8
$3,085
$4,102
$6,169
For each additional person, add:
+$312
+$415
+$624
* Income Levels are subject to yearly adjustments. FPL = Federal Poverty Level (http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/) Families are using welfare programs are big in sizes. Many people who enrolled in the federal assistance programs are drug addicts. Many of them buy alcohol and drugs from the money they got from welfare. Many of them do not like to pay their bills and some of them even went to jail several times for different crimes. Growing up in these families, many kids are learning how to abuse the federal system from their family. Therefore, their moral qualities decline and defraud the system when they grow up. The labor force participation rates of persons around retirement age dropped when retirement benefits became available at age sixty-two in 1956 for women and in 1961 for men. In his 2005 State of the Union speech, President Bush indicated that Social Security was facing "bankruptcy." Since people are living longer and therefore drawing benefits longer now, the benefits will rise dramatically over the next few decades. In 2018, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes in. Every year afterward will bring a new shortfall, bigger than the year before. For example, in the year 2027, the government will somehow have to come up with an extra $200 billion to keep the system afloat - and by 2033, the annual shortfall would be more than $300 billion. By the year 2042, the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt. Therefore, people in their 20’s or 30’s might not see the social security; even 12.4% of their paycheck goes towards these taxes. (http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/sotu.transcript.3/index.html) All the federal assistance programs take a big part of the total budget and most of the budget money comes from the taxpayer. The President's budget for 2008 totals $2.9 trillion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to 2007. This budget for some federal assistance programs are; Mandatory spending: $1.788 trillion (+4.2%)
Different programs of United States federal assistance and how they work.
United States federal assistance could be federal program, project, service, and activity provided by the federal government. Food stamps, medicate or Medicare, Section 8, unemployment all these are supplement programs that are funded by general tax revenues and the social security retirement benefits are funded by the social security taxes. These supplement programs are designed to help elderly, blind, disabled, and poor people, who have little or no income by providing cash or other benefits to meet the basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
The official name for the food stamps program is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In the past, the program provided paper denominational stamps or coupons to the peoples. They were like US $1 (brown colored), US $5 (blue colored), and US $10 (green colored). Today, all food-stamp benefits are distributed through plastic cards called the Mass EBT card. Every cardholder has his own account and the food stamp benefits are put into the account each month. These EBT cards could be used at grocery stores, convenience stores, markets, and co-ops. The food stamp eligibility is determined by a Net income calculation that takes into consideration your family size, citizenship status, household income and certain expenses. In order to be eligible for SNAP/Food Stamps, households must have a Net Income below or equal to the Net Income Guideline for their family size.
(http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/whatarefs.htm)
Medicaid is the United States health program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with limited income in the United States. Medicare is a social insurance program that funded entirely at the federal level and focuses primarily on the older population. The Medicare Program provides a Medicare part A which covers hospital bills, Medicare Part B which covers medical insurance coverage, and Medicare Part D which covers prescription drugs. Medicaid is like a social welfare or social protection program and the Medicare is a social insurance program. Medicaid also covers a wider range of health care services than Medicare. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid)
The chart below shows how much income you can receive in a month and the amount of resources (if applicable) you can retain and still qualify for Medicaid. The income and resource (if applicable) levels depend on the number of your family members who live with you.
People, Couples without
Children & Low Income
Families
are Blind, Disabled or Age 65+
(Individuals who are Blind, Disabled or Age 65+ ONLY)
(http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/)
Section 8 is the subsidized housing for low-income families and individuals. With these programs, individuals or families find and lease a unit (either in a specified complex or in the private sector) and pay a portion of the rent (based on income, but generally no more than 30% of the family's income). (http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud/public-housing-and-rental-subsidies)
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to the unemployed people. Unemployment insurance is a federal-state program, which jointly financed through federal and state payroll taxes of the employers. Generally, employers must pay both state and federal unemployment taxes when they pay wages to employees totaling $1,500 or more in any quarter of a calendar year or they had at least one employee during any day of a week during 20 weeks in a calendar year, regardless of whether the weeks were consecutive. Some state laws are different from the federal law. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_benefits#Federal-State_joint_programs)
In most states, regular benefits are paid for a maximum of 26 weeks but during the times of high unemployment, additional weeks of benefits are available. In many states, the compensation will be half of the person’s previous earnings, up to a maximum amount. For example, in New York State, NYS unemployment provide up to a maximum of $405, which is half the state's average weekly wage. While in Arizona, the highest benefit rate is $205. Benefits are subject to Federal income taxes and must be reported on your Federal income tax return. (http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/unemployment/a/unemployment.htm)
To become eligible for Social Security retirement, a person has to reach a certain age and earn at least 40 Social Security “credits.” (10 years of work) by working and paying Social Security taxes. If you stop working, you stop earning credits until you return to work. The payment is based on how much a person made during his working years. Social Security replaces only about 40 percent of the average worker’s preretirement income. The payment is also affected by the age at which a person decides to retire. The earliest age to retire is age 62, and then the benefits will be permanently reduced, based on the age. For example, if you retire at age 62, your benefit would be about 25 percent lower than what it would be if you waited until you reach full retirement age. To draw full retirement benefits, the following Social Security Administration age rules apply:
If a person wait to retire beyond his full retirement age, his Social Security benefit will automatically increase by a percentage based on his year of birth. For example, if you were born in 1943 or later, Social Security will add 8 percent per year to your benefit for each year that you delay signing up for Social Security beyond your full retirement age. (http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/socialsecurity/a/socsecapply.htm)
How these assistance programs create problems in the society, and who are the stakeholders?
Most of these federal assistance programs cause economical and social problems, which lead to many sustainable problems. These problems are not because of the existence of the programs but it is because of the lack of authority and proper rules. With food stamp, people could by all the food or food products that meant to be eaten by people. Snack foods like candy, potato chips, chewing gum, and soft drinks also could be bought with food stamps. Therefore, many people are buying the non-healthy foods and facing many health issues like obesity, diabetics, cholesterol, and many others. Many people are abusing most these federal programs to get assistance they have to earn less money. Some people work foe cash money, therefore the earnings are not reported. Some people quit jobs frequently to get these benefits, and some do not mind to be fired from jobs to get unemployment benefits. Because of getting more benefits of being a single mother, many children are raised without their father. Since, children and pregnant women get a lot of benefit, lot of young women are getting pregnant. By getting pregnant, young moms also become independent. Therefore, they do not have to provide their parents income. For health benefits, the income levels are higher for children and pregnant women.
* Income Levels are subject to yearly adjustments.
FPL = Federal Poverty Level (http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/)
Families are using welfare programs are big in sizes. Many people who enrolled in the federal assistance programs are drug addicts. Many of them buy alcohol and drugs from the money they got from welfare. Many of them do not like to pay their bills and some of them even went to jail several times for different crimes. Growing up in these families, many kids are learning how to abuse the federal system from their family. Therefore, their moral qualities decline and defraud the system when they grow up.
The labor force participation rates of persons around retirement age dropped when retirement benefits became available at age sixty-two in 1956 for women and in 1961 for men. In his 2005 State of the Union speech, President Bush indicated that Social Security was facing "bankruptcy." Since people are living longer and therefore drawing benefits longer now, the benefits will rise dramatically over the next few decades. In 2018, Social Security will be paying out more than it takes in. Every year afterward will bring a new shortfall, bigger than the year before. For example, in the year 2027, the government will somehow have to come up with an extra $200 billion to keep the system afloat - and by 2033, the annual shortfall would be more than $300 billion. By the year 2042, the entire system would be exhausted and bankrupt. Therefore, people in their 20’s or 30’s might not see the social security; even 12.4% of their paycheck goes towards these taxes. (http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/sotu.transcript.3/index.html)
All the federal assistance programs take a big part of the total budget and most of the budget money comes from the taxpayer. The President's budget for 2008 totals $2.9 trillion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to 2007. This budget for some federal assistance programs are;
Mandatory spending: $1.788 trillion (+4.2%)
Solution and conclusion
From the discussion above, we could realize that, the stakeholders are everyone in the nation. These different federal assistance programs are like drug addiction for some people. These programs make peoples life so easy by giving benefits that they keep coming back for more. It does not mean that US should not have these federal programs. Without these programs, the nation will face bigger problems by increasing poverty, crime, and corruption. Therefore, the programs should exist, but it should not be so easy to get. The authority needed to be strict and each month they needed to check into whom they are giving the benefits. Voluntary work could be mandatory for all healthy beneficiaries. Government could make a low that smaller families will receive more benefits than bigger families. People should only able to buy healthy foods with the food stamps. Through education, everybody need to learn how it is harming, the social and economical quality of the future generation. For retirement benefits, persons taking early retirement benefits could receive an even greater decrease in annual benefits, compared to persons who retire at the normal retirement age and this could encourage work among persons between the earliest retirement age and the normal retirement age. Overall, we have to encourage people to be on their own feet, when they can instead of being lazy.
Citation
http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/whatarefs.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid
http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/
(http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud/public-housing-and-rental-subsidies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_benefits#Federal-State_joint_programs
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/socialsecurity/a/socsecapply.htm
http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/unemployment/a/unemployment.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/sotu.transcript.3/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_United_States_federal_budget
http://seekingalpha.com/article/171478-options-trader-thursday-outlook-fourscore-for-unemployment-benefits
http://www.datpiff.com/DJ_Mase_Bizarre_Liquor_Weed_Food_Stamps.m73215.html
http://www.inewscatcher.com/2010/02/unemployment-benefits.html
http://www.npc.umich.edu/publications/policy_briefs/brief02/
http://www.freakingnews.com/Food-Stamp-Pictures-8135.asp
Link
http://hungerreport.org/2010/data/hunger-and-health/106-wic
http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/whatarefs.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid
http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/
(http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hud/public-housing-and-rental-subsidies
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/socialsecurity/a/socsecapply.htm
http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/unemployment/a/unemployment.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/sotu.transcript.3/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_United_States_federal_budget